Bad News
by KS Claw
Summary: Start on a new series...Elrod Purvis mutated into Viper, but what is now to be of his wife and kit?(updated)


BAD NEWS

By KS Claw

The start of a new series. Might as well work on it since I got sort of a writers block with "Nexus" and a few of my other stories ^^;; enjoy!

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"Nothing can stop me now...AAUUUGHH!!" Elrod Purvis cried out as he tripped over the suitcase and fell down the stairs. The canister with Vipermutagen #365 smashed and spread all over the stairs and the kat as he landed hard on the ground with a *thud*. With a groan, he weakly looked up and scowled as he saw Zyme come down the stairs.

"Uuungh...now look what you made me do..." he hissed, then started grabbing for Zymes notes. "But don´t worry...I still got the notes to make plenty mo-..uugh...AAARH!!" with a cry of torment, Purvis collapsed, then lay still.

".....Purvis?!" Zyme called out, stopping in his tracks. Cautiosly, he went down and checked on Purvis, searcing for a pulse. But there was none....

"Oh no...." the scientist whispered, then quickly hurried upstairs to call the Enforcers.

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Kathy Purvis lay peacefully asleep when the doorbell rang. She muttered and sat up rubbing her eyes before gazing at the clock. 12:30 midnight?? Who was up at this hour? Maybe Elrod had forgotten his keys again....

The she-kat slipped out of bed, about to go out to the entrance when a slight whimper reached her ears. She smiled slightly and went back into the room, stepping over to a crib. A 3 month old kitten lay asleep, shivering from a nightmare then calming when his mother picked him up. 

"Shhh...shhh sweetums..." Kathy whispered softly and rocked the kitten gently. Then she headed out to the door, holding the kitten close as she opened the door. Outside stood an enforcer. 

"Mrs. Purvis?" Kathy frowned, blinking slightly against the light from the corridor.

"Yes?"

"I am afraid I have some bad news for you...may I come in?" Kathy nodded and motioned for the Enforcer to come in, who when he entered took off his cap and looked down.

"It is like this....."

It took one hour to explain the whole story. When the Sarge was done, all he could do was sit in silence. Mrs. Purvis said across him, her eyes wide and unseeing. Her kitten lay asleep, snuggled close to his mothers chest.

"....Dead...." She finally whispered. The sarge nodded. 

"Yes...I am sorry ma'am...." as he was about to say more, his radio crackled and he picked it up.

"Sergent, get to the morgue! We have a case here!" The sergent comfirmed he had heard it and looked on mrs. Purvis.

"I am sorry ma'am. But I have to go..." She only gave a nod. 

"I understand....I bid you goodnight....and...thank you for...telling me about this...." she whispered in a cracked voice, water comming to her eyes. The sarge nodded and then left...

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It was early in the morning. Some katizens where getting home from a late night job. Others where just getting up to get to work. In the sewers, a reptilian figure was dragging himself through the dirty waters of the sewers. Tired and wounded, the remains of the former scientist Elrod Purvis, now insane and reborn as Doctor Viper made his way through the sewers. A faint instinct told him to go home....home? Yes...home...he turned left somewhere, then....

No...not home...Elrod Purvis had a home....now there was only Doctor Viper....

Kathy.....pictures of a she-kat with fur with the color of a sun-golden field of corn and hair as black as the feathers of a raven...eyes as green as emeralds.....

"No...no....I can´t....sssssss...." Viper clutched his head, shaking and hissing it angrilly....part of him seemed to be fighting for control. Another of it kept sending him memories.....a kitten....almost looking like himself...except for those eyes...eyes like emeralds....

He saw himself go into the house they had....a house with a garden he and his wife had been working on for a long time....then he saw the she-kat and the kitten scream in fear as they would see how he looked now, with his hideous and monsterous features.....

"GRAARRGGHH!!!!" for unknown reasons, he furiously bit hard into his own arm and ripped a chunk of flesh clean off....the pain got him back to his sences...made the pictures in his head go away....a view of something else came to his mind as he in a frozen state watched as the wound he had caused himself with help from the mutagen recreated the muscles...senes...flesh...skin.....

"MegaKat Ssssswamp...." he sneered lowly to himself, then made his way once again through the sewer system, only stopping up to swat away a rat or push away piles of garbage and scrap that came from a world he no longer was welcome in.....

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She woke up, traces of salt from the tears she had cried crumbling on the cheeks on her fur. She sighed and rubbed them away, then sat up and looked to the right side of the bed.....

Which was empty....

Tears came to her eyes once more as she placed a hand on the un-used pillow....which would never be used again.....she covered her eyes with her hands and wept, her whole body quivering.

"Elrod...Elrod...." Kathy whimpered, wishing desperately that this was a bad dream...a horrible bad dream...in a minute she would wake up and feel his strong but gentle hands hold her by her shoulders, feel his lips softly kissing her tears away and then hold her close to assure her everything was alright...that nothing like this was ever going to happen...that it had only been a dream....

But her wish did not come true. She looked up hearing her infant and now fatherless son whimper in hunger. Drying her eyes, she got out of bed and picked up the kitten, then headed for the kitchen to get David and herself some nourishment. Kathy gently placed David in his high chair then got out some food for him, heating some milk up on the oven. Absently, she picked up the remote and turned on the small TV in the kitchen to watch the news like she always did. 

".....And just this morning, a new villain has appeared to cast his shadow over MegaKat City. Former Biochemical Lab-worker Doctor Elrod Purvis re-appeared, taking Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Briggs for hostages along with Doctor Zyme the fellow creator of the Vipermutagen #365, which apparently not only took the life of Elrod Purvis but turned him into a socalled "mutated freak of nature" now known under the name as Doctor Viper...." Kathy's eyes widened as she saw clips from the security-cameras that the newscrew had somehow gotten ahold of....Doctor Viper....Elrod...Viper...Elrod....Elrod.....

"O...Oh...God...."

The whole room spinned around for her eyes and she leaned against the kitchen counter, her entire body shivering all over. She coughed and let out a harsh sobbing, feeling it difficult to support herself...she reached out and turned off for the oven so the milk wouldn´t boil over....then she collapsed on the floor, unconcious.

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The morning-sun shined through a hole in the wood in the enormous hollow tree Viper had seeked shelter in for the night. The warm ray slowly 

made its way across the floor before it finally reached the sleeping snakekat.

As the warmth of the ray began to heat up his face, he stirred and muttered, opening his eyes slightly before sitting up and stretching

tiredly, yawning so lines of his sharp white teeth where shown. He blinked tiredly as he looked around, trying to focus when he remembered 

what had happened. He had been trying to take his revenge on Zyme, Manx and Ms. Briggs when 2 kats in flight-suits named the SWAT KATS had 

arrived....

"SSSSWAT KATSssss...." the green kat hissed, his forked tongue slithering swiftly in and out of his mouth as he growled. "I will have my 

revenge on you!!"

He stood up and began to make plans. His mind now lost to the deep insanity the mutagen had caused to his twisted brain had taken control.

All memories of his past life as Elrod Purvis, a citizen of MegaKat City, the husband to a she-kat named Kathy Purvis and the father of a 3

month old kitten named David had ceased to ever have excisted.....

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"Kathy, everything is going to be fine..." Tina Peterson said calmly, holding around her littlesister in a hug. Kathy didn't answer, she only

sighed and rested her head against her shoulder. Karlo, one of the 2 younger twins which where Kathy's brothers brought in a tray with some

breakfeast while Eric, the other twin was bottlefeeding David. They had arrived for a visit the other day and had found Kathy unconcious, 

David crying and the news on about the new psyco-maniac Viper in the city. Easy to say, the pieces had fallen into place. Karlo who was a

doctor had taken care of Kathy while Eric and Tina had taken care of the screaming kitten.

Now both Kathy and David where getting better. David was getting sleepy from being fed, and Kathy had told her 3 siblings what had happened.

"So what your saying is...Elrod, the guy who mom and dad both would love seeing dead and put 9 feet under with a stake through his heart and

his head cut off...is now some freakish, weird, snake-like thingamajig?" Karlo asked, plumping down next to Kathy. She sighed and nodded.

"Heh...cool!"

"Cool!?" Eric glared at his brother, his mustache slightly twitching in his way of showing irritation. 

"We're dealing with a guy who, even if he is a mutated freak of nature, is Kathy's husband! And you thinkthe whole thing is *cool*?!!?" 

Karlo just plain blinked. "Well...yeah...shouldn´t I?"

Eric sighed. "You, sir, are an insensitive uncaring prick!"

"HEY!"

Tina said "Stop bickering you 2! Your not making it any better for Kathy!" Kathy sighed and rubbed her face with one hand before standing up,

taking the sleeping kitten from Eric. "It doesn't matter Tina...could...could you guys please go? I appreciate all your help but...I think I

need to...deal with this myself..."

Tina carefully put a paw on Kathy's shoulder. "If you feel it like that...just remember we're here for you..."

"Yeah, be cool sis! Even if your mayun is lookin' like something from 'It came from outer space!'" Karlo said and laughed before getting cha-

sed out by Eric and Tina. Kathy sighed and sat down on the couch with David in her arms, looking down on the sleeping kitten.

"Looks like things are going to get tougher now sweetums..." she whispered, stroking the kittens cheek with her fingers. David murmured in 

his sleep and grabbed out in reflex, grabbing onto his mothers fingers. Kathy smiled at that, then kissed David on the forehead before going

upstairs to put him to bed.

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Former Biochemical Lab-worker Doctor Elrod Purvis re-appeared, taking Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Briggs for hostages along with Doctor Zyme 

the fellow creator of the Vipermutagen #365, which apparently not only took the life of Elrod Purvis but turned him into a socalled "mutated 

freak of nature" now known under the name as Doctor Viper....Commander Feral commented, that should anyone see him or have information about

his whereabouts, you are to contact the enforcers. And the weather..."

*click*

As the large television screen was turned off, darkness fell over the enormous cave. Everywhere, vague chitters and hisses could be heard,

black eyes squinting in the dark. A flutter of wings was to be heard, and the creepling let out a hiss before landing on a enormous shoulder,

a shoulder-shield with a ruby-red colored 'D'. Orange colored eyes glowed thoughtfully in the dark, regarding the now black TV screen where

Ann Gora had reported about this "Doctor Viper" person just a few seconds ago. A large purple paw with a sparking diamond-ring slowly reached

up and petted the creepling on the head before stroking a scull-like chin in deep thought.

"Seems like we have a new contestant to worry about..." Dark Kat muttered, eyes narrowed in deep thought. The creeplings chattered on their

odd language, looking at one another before looking back on their master. The huge purple kat stood up and grabbed his cane before walking

out of his lair, followed by his creeplings.

"Let us see if we can find this....Doctor Viper...and teach him the basic rules of being in the Underworld." 

The creeplings let out a screeching and chittering laughter in anticipation, knowing what was to come.

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"OH Sugarpie, honeybunch! You know that I loooove you!!" Chance Furlong wailed along to the radio, his tail happily dashing from side to side as he rocked his hips to the music, using a screw-driver for a microphone.

"I can't help myseeelf! I love *you* and nobody else...WHUOOHHH!!!"

"Chance, if you keep that up, every window and mirror is gonna be having a crack in it by noon!" Jake laughed as he came over to the large gold-furred tabby, rubbing his paws in a cloth. Chance sent him a maniacal grin.

"That's just too bad Jake, its not all of us who has been born with a talent. Your the sureshot, I´m the great pilot *and* golden voice!! Hah!!"

"'I'm the pilot *and* golden voice'" Jake mimicked in a yapping tone. "Don´t see why I should care about that! I can for one thing cook better than you! AND I can take a whole horror-marathon! Not like you, ya big scaredy-kat!" Chance's grin vanished and was replaced by a scowl. "Who are you calling a scaredy-kat, ya cartoon-mocker!!?? I'll bet you can't take a whole Scaredy-kat marathon without wanting to change the channel!" 

"Oh yeah!?" Jake responded, puffing his chest up.

"Yeah!" puffing up his chest even larger, Chance glared on Jake.

"Oh *Yeah*!!??" 

"*YEAH*!!" 

"Deal! Next time there's a horror-marathon on, YOU watch the WHOLE thing, crying in fear and begging for mommy allowed!" Jake grinned.

"And next time there's a Scaredy-kat marathon, YOU watch the WHOLE thing, without complaining! Begging for Litterbin allowed!! Looser cleans the Turbokat *alone*."

"*And* fixes everything on garbage-day alone when Burke and Murray has delivered!!" Jake retorted. "We got a deal?" 

"You got it!!"

They shook hands to seal the deal and glared eachother stubbornly in the eyes.

"Uhm...hello? Anyone here?" A female voice called. The 2 kats forgot their earlier argument and went outside to see who was calling. A black-haired she-kat with her hair tied up in a ponytail stood with a bicycle, a baby-kitten with a finger in his mouth peering sleepily out from under a cap at the 2 kats appearing from the garage. Jake gave a polite smile while Chance lifted his cap in greeting.

"What can we do for you ma'am? Any problems?" The she-kat smiled back in response

(though Jake notised it didn´t seem to reach to her emerald-green eyes)

and motioned to the front-tire on her bicycle.

"Well, I got a flat tire, and I was wondering...do you handle bicycles?" Jake and Chance looked at eachother and nooded.

"Yeah sure!" Chance said with his usual grin. "We'll handle it in no time."

"*sigh* I am glad to know that....I have a long way to go before I get home and well, I need to get Davids diaper changed..." 

"No need to worry ma'am." Jake smiled. "We will gladly let you handle this inside the garage." Chance nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Don't worry ma'am I can fix your tire while Jake helps ya with your kit. He's better with them than I am." he chuckled. The she-kat shook her head.

"Oh no, I couldn't...I don't want to waste your time..."

"You aren't!" Jake said, waving with a paw. "It's not as if we have anything better to do. Besides, I think your kit wouldn't mind if you took a break..." he motioned to the kitten who was getting a frowning expression, looking rather uncomfortable about something....the she-kat sighed and smiled alittle

(a expression that yet again did not reach her eyes, the 2 mechanics noted)

"Well, since I don't have anything important going on...might as well accept your offer. Thankyou very much mr...."

"Clawson. Jake Clawson." Jake smiled and pointed at Chance with his thumb. "And that's my partner and friend, Chance Furlong." 

"Well, might as well introduce myself since you already have..." the she-kat said, picking up the baby from his seat on the bike. 

"My name is Kathy Purvis, and this is my son, David."

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He woke up by the feeling of dirty water seeping into his mouth as the water was raising in the sewers. He sat straight up, coughing and wheezing, gagging the filthy waters out of his sore throat. He blinked tiredly and winced feeling soreness all over his body. What had happened? Then he remembered.....

He had been walking in the sewers on the hunt of something to eat, lost in his thoughts about revenge over the SWAT KATS, Zyme, Manx....then they attacked.

A wild hissing and chittering was heard as pinkish demon-like creatures striked out of the dark, hissing and chittering wildly as they slashed at him with their claws, some of them clinging to Vipers chest, arms and legs, biting with their sharp teeth, causing Viper to roar out in pain.

More kept on comming, and in the end they had him forced down to the floor, the reptilian kat struggling to get free. A dark chuckle sounded out of the dark.

"You might as well give up struggling Doctor Viper. My creeplings are in greater number than you, so it is useless to fight." Viper snarled, writhering even more.

"Who are you? Ssshow yourssself!!"

Heavy steps where heard as a enormous figure stepped out of the dark, clad in a grey robe, a heavy black cloak hiding the facial features except for a pair of devilishly orange-glowing eyes, glimpting with a inner dangerous intelligence that made something in Viper shrivel in...disgust? Fear?

Vipers own eyes glowed in a angry yellowish color as he glared at the figure in front of him.

"Who are you!?" he asked again, struggling in the creeplings grip. The orange eyes narrowed in response.

"I am Dark Kat." the mentioning alone of the name made something in Viper freeze. Who had not heard of this criminal mastermind, who almost a year ago had almost succeeded in bombing Enforcer HQ, if not the enforcers had stopped him in time, where Dark Kat under his retreat had mysteriously disappeared.

"Ssso...." Viper started slowly, narrowing his eyes. "You are Dark Kat. People think of you assss dead...." Though he could not see the purple kats face, he could not help it but think that Dark Kat was quite obviously smirking. The orange eyes gained a more powerful glow as the smirk turned into a enormous evil grin, which made the critters he had called creeplings chitter slightly.

"As you can see, my dear doctor, I am quite alive. I have my plans for the city. Plans in where YOU do not fit in!" A large purple fist lunged out and grabbed Viper by his throat, lifting him up in the air. The reptillian kat hissed and writhered, gagging for breath as a fist with 2 enormous rings lunged out and whammed with what seemed like the speed of a train into his chest, knocking all air out of his lungs. More punches followed after that, then kicks as Dark Kat dropped Viper on the ground, the creeplings adding theirs with their bites and scratches from their claws, screeching and chittering with glee. The last thing Viper remembered was these words before Dark Kat grabbed him and slammed him headfirst into a wall....

"Do not cross my path Viper. Those who do not work with me are considered a threat. And I make sure all threats are exterminated!!"

Viper sucked in a breath as he felt how his healing-process was slowly taking care of a 2 cracked ribs, his claws digging into the ground he sat on, leaned against the sewerwall. His eyes glowed angrilly in the dark. 

"Well *Dark Kat*" the reptilian kat snarled out in the dark. "I may be considered a threat...but I, too, exterminate all posssssible threatssssssss....."

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David gurgled as Kathy softly cooed at him, kicking with his small legs as she changed his diaper. Jake had taken the dirty diaper and cleaned the kittens behind, then thrown the whole thing out in the trash-bin outside of the garage.

"He's a cute kit, ma'am." The brown tabby said with a chuckle as David caught his finger. Kathy only smiled alittle.

"Thankyou....he means everything to me..." she sighed, softly stroking the kittens belly with a paw, the kitten gurgling happily, his tiny tail dashing in amusement.

"I can imagine....heh wouldn't mind if I got a kit myself one day...not now, but...some day." Jake chuckled. Kathy smiled sadly, and something glittered on her cheek. Then she wiped it away, but Jake knew a tear when he saw one.

"Is something wrong Mrs. Purvis? Did I say something...?"

She shook her head."No...no..." she wiped the tears away. "Only.....that is one of the first things my husband told me...when we first met...." her eyes got a distant look, her lips forming a tiny smile at the memories comming to her....

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"Crud crud crud....." Kathy muttered, as she struggled to keep a solid grip on her umbrella, the rough november-wind threatening to yank it out of her hands. She was close to the café...just alittle closer...

"Ahr CRUD!!" The fabric of the umbrella was torn to shreds, and escaped its way down the road. Kathy scowled and cursed angrilly as she ran the rest of the way. As she was about to go in, a figure clad in a red raincoat bonked into her.

*OOMPH*

The figure yelped as Kathy hit it, sending it into the wall, while Kathy fell and landed in a enormous puddle, created by the rainwater. She squealed as the cold water soaked her tail, butt and thighs in a matter of seconds.

The stress from the whole day she had been going through, added with the ruined and lost umbrella, and now this made everything collapse, and she burst into tears.

"Uh...miss? Are you alright?" A tenor-light voice asked, a paw grabbing hers and helping her to stand.

"Sorry I ran into you like that...I..didn't hurt you, did I?" Kathy registered they had gotten inside the café, and the figure handing her a paper-napkin taken from the desk. She sniffled and nodded her thanks taking the napkin, rubbing her eyes with it.

"N..no...you..didn't hurt me..." she whispered hoarsely, looking down on her soaked feet. The other one, she notised, was wearing a pair of worn nikes-shoes.

"*Phew* I´m glad to know that...." the person said with obvious relief. "I always feel bad about hurting others by accident...." Kathy pulled down her hood and pulled the hair-band out to re-tie her pony-tail.

"Well....I've just had a very bad day...." she sighed, shaking hair out of her eyes before fixing her ponytail. She looked up on the other person who had pulled his hood down as well....

Obsidian-black eyes met emerald green as the 2 kats looked at eachother. Everything around them, sounds, smells, sights...seemed to vanish as the 2 stood there. Kathy felt a odd burning in her cheeks and looked down. The tomkat blinked, nervously stroking a hand over a thick black mane of hair.

"*A-hem*...uhm...thanks for helping me up..." Kathy muttered, shyly looking on her hands.

"Uhm...your welcome..." the tomkat responded. The 2 looked at eachother again, studying one another. Kathy marked the tomkats features in her memory. A few inches taller than her, tan-yellow fur, black eyes...a not too long muzzle, accompanied by a not too large chin. His long black hair went in a mane from a widows-peak on his forehead and between his ears down to the back of his neck, slightly clinging to his neck due to that it was wet.

*...And he's got a cute nose..* she thought to herself and covered her mouth with a paw to hide a smile at that.

"Can I....Can I get you something? Glass of milk, cup of coffee...." the tomkat said, rubbing his neck. "Actually, I don't just talk with strangers...." she responded, smiling alittle. The tomkat half-grinned nervously, then reached a paw towards her.

"Well how about we introduce then? My name is Elrod Purvis." she chuckled and took his paw, shaking it.  
"And my name is Kathy M. Peterson." "There! Now we're not strangers anymore. So..." Elrod Purvis said with a nervous chuckle. "So what about that cup of coffee?" Kathy responded with a grin.

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"Heh, I don't mind kits. They can be cute in their own noisy way. Comes with growing up with a older sister and 2 younger twin-brothers." Kathy said as the 2 was now sitting, each with a cup of coffee and a piece of pie on a plate next to the cup. Elrod smiled alittle and took a sip of his cup.

"Wouldn't really know myself. Only tried babysitting a cousin once in a while. I´m a lone-child, so....but it's not that I don't want kits myself. Maybe I'm gonna settle down sometime....get married, get a house with garage and maybe 2 kits or more!" Kathy laughed, and Elrod joined in quickly. They sat there talking until the rainstorm outside settled down to a quiet dripping and dropping here and there. Kathy looked out the window and sighed.

"Looks like the rain is stopping. Well, I better be heading home now, it's getting late...it was nice talking to you Elrod..." Elrod nodded and smiled to her.

"Same to you Kathy...Uhm...will I...see you again?" She smiled. 

"Perhaps...maybe here? I always go here to get my lunch."

"Sounds good. Lunch here tomorrow?" he asked. She looked thoughtful for a few. Then gave a nod in approval.

"Tomorrow. Here."

"Lunch?"  
"Lunch." She smiled to him and waved. He waved back, then she headed off.

As she headed home, she felt a strange sensation in her chest. As if something was growing in there. She smiled. She was looking forward to see that kat again...

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Jake chuckled as the she-kat ended the story. "So thats basically how you met your husband?" Kathy nodded.

"We lived at the same campus, so we could see more to eachother...we stayed together even after we had both graduated. And well...." she looked down at David who was resting in her lap as they sat on the couch, his eyes closed and his thumb in his mouth. "...he proposed to me. We got married and 1 year and 9 months later, David was born....." she sighed and held her kitten close, her ears drooping slightly. She looked up when Chance came in, rubbing his paws in a cloth.

"There ya go ma'am. All done. I took care of the chain as well, it needed oil." she stood up and smiled. "Thankyou Mr. Furlong. How much will it cost?" 

"Well normally we don't take care of bikes but....hrmm...shall we say 5 for the tire and 5 for the oil Jake?" Jake looked thoughtful. "Yeah, that's a fair price." Kathy frowned hesitantly. "I don't know...I don't have much money with me right now." The larger tomkat shrugged. "Well it doesn't have to be payed in money." "Yeah, if you got some old scrap, like...parts from a car, a old bike...something around that..." Kathy thought for a minute.

"Well I do have a old radio that really isn't useable anymore. But it is at home, so..."

"It's just fine." Chance said. "We'll come and get it, say...maybe tomorrow?"

"It's a deal."

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It had taken time, but it seemed for him that with the death of his former self, Elrod Purvis, time itself had died. Who had said that time did not excist yet we let ourself be controlled by it? Einstein? No matter. Time sure did not excist for Doctor Viper anymore.

It was dark in the enormous hollow tree, mostly in the corners though. In glasses Viper had found whole on a dumpster laying at the outskirts of MegaKat City, he had imprisoned fireflies, 4 in each glass. As they flickered around inside, their dim light cast a faint glow through the various rooms he had created in the tree. How he had done it? In some odd way, he had found out he had the power to control plants, either with words or his thoughts. 

He was now resting in a sort of chair made from various vines and plants, looking over what he had created. He narrowed his eyes and smirked. This was created by him, and just him. No foolish collegues had created this along with him. No Manx had funded this. This was his place. His realm.

His home?

Vipers eyes narrowed into tiny slits, glowing faintly in the dark as he searched.....searched for what? "What isss thisss feeling I keep having inside?" he mumbled to himself, stroking his chin in deep thought, his long elastic tail lazily swaying behind him as he looked around. "I have created all thisss...I have the power to control plantsss and my own mutant forcessss.....but why do I not feel thrilled then?"

The answer was deep in his mind. And he knew it. But every time he tried searching, a odd sort of pain went through his heart, and would not stop until he had gotten his mind elsewhere. But he always managed to catch a glimpt of something. Or someone....

(Black hair...black like a ravens wing....)

It was driving him crazy, the fact that he did not know what it was he was trying to, but could not remember.

(Green eyes...green like emeralds....twinkling like the precious gems in light whenever)

He rested his head in his hands, his eyes absently looking over the many various plants and corners and wooden walls. 

(she laughed. A beautiful sparkling laughter, whenever he told her something funny. Or whenever they)

"Ssssssssssss"

(made love. The past 3 years he had been working with Zyme had been stressful. They would both lay together in bed and she would softly hum a tune...their song....while gently caressing his head, his neck, his ears and his shoulders..)

he clenched his head. The pain was returning as the various memories seemed to be flooding his mind.

(..in return he would softly hold her, nuzzling her ever so gently, his hands cradling her face and his lips softly brushing over hers before she would embrace him, kissing him deeply...a kiss he always)

His breath hissed in and out through his partly opened mouth, his forked tongue flickering in and out between his lips.

(gladly returned. As they separated, they would look deep into eachothers eyes. He smiled. "I love you...my sweet rose..." she smiled back. "And I love you, my lupus...")

The long tail dashed back and forth, threatening to smack its owner hard if he would loose control of it.  
("Always?" he would ask, teasingly smirking at her before kissing the fingers on her hand which beared the ring he had given her when he proposed....)

His hissing grew louder, his eyes now squinched shut, a pair of tears succeeding in escaping, rolling down his cheeks.

(She would laugh in response, hugging close to him. "Always my lupus....always...)

He extended his claws and clenched his head, his claws drawing blood.

(...and forever." he grinned and kissed her once more, both of them purring softly...)

The now green blood trickled down his cheeks, and the pain seemed to vanish along with the pain he brought on himself.

("Always...)

Gasping, he briefly recalled a desperate measure from the sewers. Reaching an arm out, he removed the sleeve, and bit hard into it.

(and forever..")

The pain brought him to his sences at last. He ripped a chunk of meat off and let out a ear-piercing roar of pain. His mind foggy and his body excausted, his breath wheezing in and out of his lungs as if he had been out for a long run, he leaned back in the chair, his wounded arm limply dangling down the side and towards the floor, the green blood running slowly down his fingers, giving the ground a odd green-brown color. Tired, he closed his eyes and his head dropped to one side as he gave in to what would be a long, dreamless sleep....

("Always and forever")

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Jake calmly lifted a hand and knocked on the door 3 times before standing and waiting, his tail patiently twitching lightly as he merrily whistled a tune. The day had started off nicely and at the moment Chance was at the garage getting ready for the first part of their bet, probably looking around at BlockBuster Video for some of the really good horrorflicks that Jake had written on a note for him to remember. ("And don't you dare try and rent a Scaredykat-tape then hide it in a box for a horror-flick, Chance!" he had stated warningly "else it will be a automatic game over!" "Yeaah yeahh" the golden tabby had grumbled in response)

The door was opened, interrupting Jakes thoughts. Mrs. Purvis was dressed in a more relaxed outfit than yesterday, a red sweater and a pair of loose jeans with the kitten David resting on her arm. The kitten stared at Jake with huge green eyes while keeping his mouth occupied with the ear of a plush-dog.

"Good day mrs. Purvis. Came for that radio we talked about yesterday." Jake said with a smile. The she-kat blinked then seemed to realise. "Oh! Of course! Do come inside mr. Clawson!" She motioned with her free hand and stepped away from the door. As Jake came inside, she looked pleadingly at him "could you please hold David? Then I'll get the radio."

"I don't see why not." Jake smiled, taking the kitten carefully, holding him close to his chest. The kitten kept himself occupied with the plush-dogs ear, staring at Jake as Kathy went off up some stairs leading to upstairs. While he waited, Jake looked around in the entrance-hall. Various photos and a few small paintings where placed around, giving the place a comfy family-like atmosphere. A color-photo caught his attention out of the corner of his eyes. As he looked closer, keeping David close to him, he blinked a few times.

"No...it can't be...."

"There, found it!" Kathy's voice sounded as she came down the stairs with a radio in her paws, then stopped on the halfway, seeing Jake's look on his face. Jake looked up on her, then on the photo.

"Tell me if I am wrong....but...is this a wedding-photo of you and...Elrod Purvis? Who is now known as Doctor Viper!?"

She only stood there, looking down on the radio in her paws. There was deep silence between the 2 kats until David dropped his plush-dog and began to whimper.

Jake bend down and picked it up and gave it to the kitten who happily began to chew on the plush-dogs ear, hugging the treasured plush-toy tight.

"Yes...it's true....." the she-kat finally whispered, before proceeding down to the bottom of the stairs. Jake frowned, his tail thoughtfully twitching back and forth.   
"Care to talk about it?" 

"I....."

"I swear, I have...nothing against it if you...you know..."

"Still love him?" He blinked.

"Uhm...yeah..."

She sighed. 

"It's better talking about it than...keeping it locked inside I guess..." She motioned to him to follow with her into the livingroom. 

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It was late evening when Jake returned to the garage, his mind swirling with thoughts as he headed into the garage. His ear twitched as he heard laughter from the livingroom, but didn't think it over until his noted 3 videoboxes on the table. Oh right, the bet...Chance had probably decided to wait until Jake returned. But there waited a surprise when Jake stepped into the livingroom.

Chance was laughing at a horror-movie!?

The gold-furred tabby was wailing in laughter as a werewolf was about to throw himself at a young teenage-couple.

"Thats it! Suppertime! Whooo!!" Jake just plain blinked.

"Uhh...Chance?!" Chance looked up, grinning.

"Oh hi Jake! Yaknow, this thing with the horrormovies wasn't such a bad idea! This is just...well great!" then he paused at Jakes expression. "What's wrong Jake? You look like someone stole your katnip." Jake sighed and just plopped down on the couch.

"Remember Mrs. Purvis who we dealed with that she'd pay with that radio of hers instead of money?" Chance nodded.

"Well...I found out something...." 

The TV canalized the werewolfs howl as the young teen-couple became the victim of the beasts claws....

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David was peacefully sleeping in his mothers arms as she carefully rocked them both back and forth in the rocking-chair. She herself felt dozy, but she couldn't decide if it was from tears, comfort or relief. Or maybe all three. She closed her eyes, remembering the conversation with the mechanic Jake Clawson. She had told him how she had been told her husband was dead, and how she later the next morning discovered the truth. At one point, she had been unable to take it, and had broken down in tears. Then Jake comforted her, telling her how everything was going to be fine...everything would be alright....she recalled how she had pushed him away, telling him to stop that...it hurt her too much....

"Hurt you...how?" Jake asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"E...Elrod...." she managed to whimper in response.   
"Oh....I see...." Jake said softly. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to upset you further....perhaps I should just leave now..."

She took a deep breath and calmed down. "No..its alright....I'm...I'm alright now..." she sighed, looking down on her hands. Jake gently put a paw on her shoulder, and she looked up at him.

"Hey...if you ever need someone to talk to....just call me, OK?" she had smiled in response, smiled through her tears. A friend was what she needed most of all right now. But not as much as she needed her husband.

A faint chipping was heard from outside and she opened her eyes, feeling the sun warm her eyelids through a crack in the curtains. She yawned as she sat up in the rocking chair holding the still sleeping David close, as she walked over to the curtains. With one hand, she reached out and pulled the curtain aside, and allowed the sunlight to stream in. 

The view was breathtaking. The house itself was on top of a sort of hill in one of the more quiet areas of the city. The suns golden globe was to be seen in hiding behind one of the larger towers (Mayors office?) as it was slowly creeping upwards to bless the katizens of MegaKat City with a new bright day.

Kathy sighed. For her, the times ahead of her seemed more dark than bright.

THE END (for now)

A/N: And so ends the first of many stories in a new series. So whatya think of it? Good? Bad? Mail me or review (on FF.net)

THANKS TO:  
Sagey and AkaneKitty for a few of their tips and inspiration

Stephen Kings "The shining" which has inspired me in more than one way

And finally! Mucho thanks to Strike, Annu-chan, Klawzie, Kooshmeister, BlackRazor, Kris, Sagey (again) and Matt in helping me with thinking up Dark Kat and Vipers first meeting and reasons why! THANKS A BUNCH YOU GUYS!!


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